This disclosure relates to an imaging system, method of imaging, and, in particular, to an imaging system and method of imaging with reduced thermal stress on a substrate.
In duplex printing, a sheet with an image printed on a first side is inverted and returned to an image transfer nip to printing on a second side. However, the image on the first side is fused to the sheet before being returned to the image transfer nip for printing on the second side. During the fusing process, dimensional changes can occur in the sheet. As a result, alignment of images on the first and second sides of the sheet can be difficult or impossible. In addition, fusers can be particularly long. As a result, the return path after fusing can be relatively long, affecting throughput and/or introducing additional complexity. Furthermore, fusing chemicals or other fusing induced changes can contaminate the image transfer nip and/or cause other problems with subsequent imaging.